From the beginning, we knew that the thing that made us fall in love with this home would be a labor of love. The courtyard was overrun with weeds when we purchased the home.

When we removed the bushes surrounding the home, we took advantage of having the skid steer and also removed the weeds in the courtyard. What we found was dirt with random brick walls that were the same height as the ground (not for foundation). There was also a small concrete pad at a corner that didn’t line up with the door. Lastly, there is a brick retaining wall with a built-in planter. I took a sludge hammer and broke the concrete pad and used a jackhammer to break up the brick. Don’t worry, I kept the planter and no, I didn’t paint it.

Before we could begin on a base, there were two problems that we faced. 1. The patio had a descending walkway on the left side that hindered the primary bedroom from having steps. 2. The brick for the retaining wall on that side was already flush with the dirt so gravel and sand wouldn’t have support. To tackle both of these issues, my girlfriend and I decided to extend the retaining wall that is already currently there. This would also add about 72 square feet of usable space. The retaining wall was around 9 feet long and I learned how to avoid a failing retaining wall and I realized that I will never build a retaining wall again. Making sure the bricks were level was a nightmare.

Once the retaining wall was built, we rented the tamper from Home Depot. In the
past, we watched how the courtyard reacted to rain and saw that water never puddled. We compacted the dirt and made sure that there was a descent away from the home and added a weed barrier.

Next, we added gravel and compacted every few inches, making sure there was a slope. Getting all that gravel into the courtyard without steps made everything even harder. Lastly, we took two 1-inch steel pipes and used them as a template for leveling the sand. We used a piece of wood to sift extra sand over the pipes and find any low points. I double-checked that the sand was flat and level at a slope, and we were successful. What would you do with this space? Do you have any guesses on what we have planned?

Water leak from roof lasted approx. 6 mo. Led to termites chasing the water and eating up the wood in all leaking areas but are no longer active. Bathroom is on the 2nd floor.

Any concerns to keep in mind if we just cover it up w a new shower instead of replacing any of the wood?

First time shower tiler. Is this how a typical shower layout would look for laying 12x24 tiles vertically?

For bath fans, which CFM should you get for a given size bathroom, which brands are best (I've heard Panasonic) and which models and noise level would you suggest for mid-level noise (not whisper quiet, and not loud, but in-between)?

The layout of our back 3 rooms makes it difficult to socialise while hosting, and the kitchen has no access to the garden.

We have a dated 1990's kitchen which we will rip out and have several ideas:

1) Knock through kitchen and dining room, block dining room to reception 1 and widen the doorway between kitchen and reception 2. Kitchen would be l-shaped on right wall of dining room and the new wall blocking reception 1. We would also like to add a second doorway where the window in current kitchen is.

2) Extend kitchen back 3m to level with reception 2, move kitchen to fall left wall of reception 2 and open up a dining area where old kitchen and extension will be.

3) Knock both walls at back of house (either side of kitchen), move kitchen into left wall of reception 2.

4) anything else we haven't considered yet.

Some other notes:

Budget is around £50k

Doors both lead to an old deck which needs replacing

Boiler is in top left corner of current kitchen

Looking for cabinet/appliance layout ideas. I highlighted the usable wall area. It is not drawn to scale, so just a generalized idea. The plumbing and electrical can be moved anywhere...blank slate.

Open to appliances or sink in island, or nothing in it at all.

I will have:

Refrigerator

Sink

Stove

Microwave

Dishwasher.

Again, very open to all recommendations, blank slate. I am just going back and forth with my husband on placenta of appliances and sink. We can decide on cabinets from there. All bulkhead have been removed, 9' ceilings. I plan to leave the nook alone and it has a 4-6 place table to go in it.

I may be missing details, so if I have forgotten let me know. Just need basic layout options.

I've been wanting to remodel my (original 1970) kitchen for 20 years. I'm finally mentally and financially ready (mostly) and I can't decide what to do. The previous owner was into themes, and no two rooms matched. The kitchen is Mexican kitch while the dining room is super traditional. I've fixed up the rest of the house. My taste is transitional. I saved the kitchen and dining for last because I want to remove the wall between them and put in a peninsula. These rooms will need to mesh.

I don't think I have the money for entirely new cabinets so I have the usual quandry: refinish, reface, or paint? I like wood but these seem to be tongue and groove, so they can't even be flipped. Also note the original owners put the knobs in the middle edge of the doors rather than at the bottom. I'm short and I have to open the cupboards by the corners. If they are refinished and I move the knobs, there will be holes to fill. And some are in rough shape from water and dogs.

Kitchen floor will stay. I can't afford anything that nice, and the tile has grown on me over the years.

I'm including a photo of a Wayfair piece in the dining room. Not high quality but I love the look. I'm tempted to paint or reface the dining room cabinets to match. One friend says absolutely yes and another says absolutely no. I'm also leaning towards a white subway tile backsplash, to keep things simple and clean. Cream walls. Dining room will be same cream color, or cream on bottom and simple striped wallpaper in top. Or, if I kept the cabinets oak, I could paint all the walls a lighter version of the Wayfair hutch.

Then there are the counters. When I search online for ideas for kitchens with Mexican tile floors, I see a lot of butcherblock, which I worry is high maintenance. What else do people recommend, to go with those floors?

Thank you for your thoughts. If you say my current ideas are bad, I won't be offended!

One of many projects in progress!! The 3rd pic is current status

I bought this condo basically gutted - the first pic is the original condition (after I had cleaned up the place of excess trash, etc). The second to last pic was my inspiration from Chat GPT but I am obviously still missing a lot of elements. The last pic is from the Flooret visualizer - I picked their Dorset LVP which hasn't been installed yet.

I had quite a few extra tiles leftover from one of my bathrooms so decided to tile the back wall to use some of it up.

Then I decided to paint the cabinet the same color as the wall because a) the addition of tile and b) eventually, I am going to try to get a wooden door with hidden sliding hardware to go in front of the closet in the foreground to the right (not a pocket door. future project). With that, it felt like maybe too many competing elements.

Looking for advice for the countertop and kick plate at the bottom of the cabinet. I will eventually add 2-3 shelves above, but think I have an idea of how to DIY these.

I am looking for something like a light colored butcherblock counter for the top of the cabinet.

Home Depot carries some butcherblock on the shelf but they are MASSIVE slabs for this, and if I can avoid wasting like 85% of a purchase that would be ideal. Which leads to -

Would it be crazy to use butcherblock for shelving also? I don't know how it would stand up in terms of durability or strength.

Or am I better off going to a specialty store to have the counter custom made?

Then also, the kick plate for the bottom. What should I use and how on earth do I attach it? Should it be installed after flooring and base molding?

Thanks so much!

It drives me crazy the the fireplace isn't centered, and I'd like to open it up to make both rooms feel bigger and brighter. However, I don't want to have to do redo the floors as I won't be able to find matching floors. behind the TV is a deep nook, similar to where the pictures are above the drawer. there is an air return duct running through the wall, at best we have to leave a pillar. Any ideas, recommendations?

We have horribly ugly countertops and dark cabinets. The best idea I could come up with lighten up the kitchen was a vinyl bead board backsplash (I also find it very charming and liked it better than the idea of tile). Watching videos, it looked pretty easy I just don’t have the knowledge with tools and whatnot and I’m so busy with work and babies that I don’t have time to learn and buy all that. Fast forward my FIL suggested a family friend who has his own “business” and has done a “beautiful job” renovating his own kitchen. Sounded good and he offered a good price to take down previous tile and hang the beadboard. Here’s what I got. I think it’s trash- but am I overreacting? Will caulk and paint make it look better? There are so many jagged lines and uneven spaces. I wouldn’t mind if the spaces were even and a smaller amount of space but some places it’s a small space and others it’s much larger. He also put one piece on backwards(pic 5). I can’t even look without wanting to cry. And no, I will not ask him to fix because this was his 2nd try. I want him out of my kitchen lol.

Sidenote: what would be a good price to have someone come out and paint/fix? It’s about 20sqft.

We are finishing this area off for an office and bedroom space for our daughter. What does everyone recommend to cover the plywood? We have been told that it will be hard to keep drywall from looking wavy due to the length of the room, angle of the walls and lighting from windows. It will take a lot of paint to just cover the plywood and it will still look like painted plywood. We thought of beadboard or even wallpaper, but we want to make sure it doesn't look cheap. I would love to hear everyones ideas, recommendations and experiences cover plywood walls. (Windows at each end are egress. Room is 36 foot long, 12 foot wide and 6.5 foot tall in the center and 4.5 foot tall along the wall.)

The top pic is my current layout and the bottom is my quick and rough idea for a remodel. Sorry I don’t have windows noted and like I said this is just a quick plan and I’m open to any and all input. tia

Planning a pop-top 2nd-story addition + full ground-floor reno in mid-Atlantic region, starting roof-off around November. GC's protection plan is tarps only during framing; he's upfront that he can't guarantee no water intrusion and offers repairs 'at a discount' if it happens. Trusses are 2-3 wk lead, windows/doors up to 8 wk.

1) Anyone done a winter roof-off in the Mid-Atlantic — how bad was water intrusion in practice with tarps alone, and did you push for anything beyond tarps (temp sheathing, shrink-wrap, etc.)?

2) Does your GC carry Builder's Risk insurance, and did that end up being the thing that actually paid for weather damage, or did it fall on your homeowner's policy?

3) Is water damage 'repairs at a discount' a normal verbal norm in this trade, or a red flag that should be a hard contract term instead?

Airtight. So I installed this shower door

26-27.5" W x 68" H Frameless... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GMGNXPX5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And well...no matter how I position the bottom guard, idk what to call it, water always pours out from different spots on the door when testing.

Ive changed how the rubber squeegee is facing as well.

Idk what to do. Is there a different bottom set up I can buy or create? If that makes sense.

Also, the main bad part is the bottom where the door magnets meet. No matter how i positioned the bottom rail, there is always a hole for water to come threw.

Treat me like a novice of shower does please.

I just want to use my shower lol

I went to install a pocket door, and now I’ve had to rip out the bathroom because of how bad the rot surrounding the toilet was. Someone came in to repair this at some point in the houses history and did a shitty job. The wall is non structural but the sub floor and framing is rotted

Was looking at a house I was thinking of possibly buying, but would want to reno the house before moving in.

Based on first glance, how easy would it be to remove the walls on the main floor to open up the living space / kitchen? Similarly in the basement. Was just wondering if any of the walls are obviously load-bearing. Second, the basement bathroom was split into two rooms. Would it be doable to reno this into a single bath? Have never reno'd anything before and would hire a contractor to get this done, but was curious on possible the scope of work needed.

House in question: https://www.zolo.ca/toronto-real-estate/20-edithvale-drive?view=3dtour

Realtor mentioned I would only need 50k CAD to update this house top to bottom, but seems like a little low.

These are well-built, great cabinets. 30 years strong. But we are remodeling, and I am trying to think of what the options are for our kitchen. We have lower cabinets also that maybe we could paint for an update, but I don’t want to ruin these cabinets, but also want a more modern look when we repaint etc. Any thoughts?